The Strengths that guide THE SELF- DIRECTED LEARNER By: Marcella L. Romero-Pirlot, Ed.S. University of New Mexico United States of America

 The term self-directed learning (SDL), according to George M. Piskurich,(1993) seems to conjure disparate images: babies in Skinner boxes, or children in a classroom motivated to learn because they are exploring interesting topics in ways that match their personal learning styles, computer mediated training programs that are time and cost effective for training one employee or a thousand; self-actuated “adult” learners taking responsibility for their education that moves them from where they are, to a place they want to be.. (p.1).

 Each entering student already has all of the talents needed to achieve and persist in college.  Each entering student has a unique set of talents that can enable and empower him/her to do certain things very well in college and beyond  The key to achieving is within a person’s talents; achieving to levels of excellence requires development and application of strengths.  Most students do not know what their greatest talents are; even fewer know how to develop or apply strengths.  The most important steps in students becoming successful include: a) students identifying their greatest talents. b) students developing strength based upon those talents. c) students applying strengths in academic learning and achievement tasks. StrengthsQuest™

 The future achievements and quality of life of students will in large measure be determined by the extent to which they discover their greatest talents, and develop and apply these strengths in college.  Therefore the most critically important job for students is to discover their greatest talents then develop and apply strengths in the many courses, programs, services, and opportunities available through a college education.  The successful self-directed learner has the ability to be aware of “self.” This attribute is closely related to some of the executive processes identified with metacognition. It enables individuals to be aware of their learning processes, of their weaknesses, but most importantly, their strengths, to know if their ability to use a different approach, to know how and what is distracting in their environment, to know the importance of a given learning activity, to know when they need assistance, to have a realistic perception of their ability to achieve their learning goal.

Gibbons stated that SDL is any increase in knowledge, skill accomplishment, or personal development that an individual selects and brings about by his or her own efforts using any method, in any circumstance at any time.” (Gibbons, 2002) Knowles described self-directed learning (SDL) in broadest meaning as “a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, to diagnose their learning needs formulate learning goals, identify resources for learning, select and implement learning strategies and evaluate learning outcomes” (Knowles, 1975). Whether or not learning is self-directed depends not on the subject matter to be learned or on the instructional methods used. Instead, self directedness depends on who is in charge—who decides what should be learned, and who should learn it, what methods and resources should be used and how the success of the effort should be measured. To the extent, the learner makes those decisions, the learning is generally considered to be self-directed.

 Self-directed learning is an increasingly popular issue for educators and trainers who are attracted to potential self- directed learning applications. Self-directed learning is discussed according to one or more of the three major conceptualizations: (Long, 2009) ◦ Independent Learning-connotes learning in isolation, or is represented by the “lone’ learner who makes the decisions about goals, content, effort, time and evaluation. Assistance from others is routinely accepted and rejected according to the learner’s own whims and standards. ◦ Distance Learning-which connotes physical distance between the learner and a teacher or agent where the learner is constrained in some degree by a curriculum devised by others; but in some ways learner behavior may include some of the activities noted in the other two conceptualizations. ◦ Psychological control-which connotes the necessary element in the definition found in the learner’s psychological independence rather than in social or curricula elements. Thus, neither setting, nor the format of the learning activity, necessarily determines if learning is self-directed. ◦

 According to M.Knowles (1980) The five assumptions underlying the concept of andragogy describe the adult learner as someone who:  Has an independent self-concept and can direct his/her own learning.  Has accumulated reservoir of life experiences that is a rich resource for learning.  Has learning needs closely related to change.  Is problem centered and interested in immediate application of knowledge.  Is motivated to learn by internal rather than external factors.

 1 st case study: StrengthQuest™ themes are:  1) Relator, 2) Individualization, 3) Analytical, 4) Activator, 5) Connectedness  “Rose” is a Hispanic/White female currently holds an A.A. in Construction Mgmt Tech. and is attempting a Bachelor’s degree in the same field. She is a single mom, attends college full-time has overcome obscure obstacles to attend college. Rose belongs to the Phi Beta Kappa sorority and is on the Dean’s list with a 3.9 GPA. Her plans are to use the degree to become a project manager for a major construction company. (Video interview indicates her self-directed learning concepts based on strengths)  * S.Mull(personal communication, November 24, 2009)

 Analytical: People who are talented in the analytical theme search for reasons and causes. They have the ability to think about the factors that might affect a situation.  Activator: People talented in the activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient  Connectedness: People talented in the connectedness theme have faith in the links between all things. They believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has a reason  Individualization: People talented in the individualization theme are intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively.  Relator: People who are talented in the Relator theme enjoy relationships with others. They find deep satisfaction in working with friends to achieve a goal.

 2 nd case study: Matthew is a 50+ Hispanic male who currently holds a B.U.S. from UNM and is attempting a Master’s in Psychology/Behavioral Counseling. He currently works at the RMCH Hospital Behavioral Health dept. He has always excelled in his studies, but mentioned that he did not receive his degree until his late forties. He identifies himself as a self-directed learner. He has had to work full-time while pursuing his degree as well as care for his father. He plans to continue his education and is attempting to work in the Behavioral health field as a licensed psychologist. His strengths are: He is strategic, learner, analytical, input and ideation. * R. Perez (personal communication, November 24, 2009)

 Analytical: People who are talented in the analytical theme search for reasons and causes. They have the ability to think about the factors that might affect a situation.  Learner: People talented in the learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.  Input: People especially talented in the input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.  Ideation: People especially talented in the ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.  Strategic: People especially talented in the strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.

 Case study #4 Tara is a 29 year old Navajo female who is working part-time at the Student Services dept. at UNM-G. She is currently enrolled in the Human Services A.S. degree program and plans to graduate in She is a single mom with three children and decided to leave a domestic violent and dysfunctional home to pursue her degree in order to obtain a higher paying job to raise her children. Her mother currently assists her by taking care of the children while she attends college. Tara’s strengths are: 1) Restorative, 2) Harmony, 3) Belief, 4) Responsibility, and 5) Deliberative T. Becenti (personal communication, November 23, 2009)

 Restorative : People especially talented in this theme are adept at dealing with problems. They are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it.  Harmony: People especially talented in this theme look for consensus. They don’t enjoy conflicts; rather they seek areas of agreement.  Belief: People especially talented in this theme have certain core values that are unchanging. Out of these values emerges a defined purpose of their life.  Responsibility: People especially talented in this theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.  Deliberative: People especially talented in this theme are best described by the serious care they take in making decisions and choices. They anticipate the obstacles.

 Caffarella, R.S. (1993) Self-Directed Learning: Eric digest. Retrieved November 21, 2009 from  Gallup Organization, (2002), Gallup StrengthsQuest™, Clifton StrengthsFinder™ Princeton, NJ  Gibbons, M. (2002). The Self-Directing learning handbook: Challenging adolescent student to excel. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers  Knowles, M.S. (1975) Self Directed Learning. New York: Associated Press  Long, H.B. (2009) Skills for Self-Directed Learning. Retrieved November 21, 2009 from  Piskurich, G.M. (1993),Self-directed learning: a practical guide to design, development, and implementation, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers  Pseudo names were used for the case study subjects